Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel has ordered top-to-bottom changes for the nation's nuclear missile force. He wants to spend billions of dollars to fix problems with leadership, security and morale. The move comes after an exam-cheating scandal revealed numerous personnel problems among those entrusted with the country's 450 nuclear intercontinental ballistic missiles. What's the future for this mission? Tom Nichols, a professor of national security affairs at Naval War College and a nuclear arms expert, joined Tom Temin on the Federal Drive to explain.

America's national security mission must adapt to the increasing complexity of threats. That means guarding against traditional risks and innovating to anticipate emerging ones. Technology can help, but it can be difficult to navigate the IT solutions amid shrinking budgets and a flood of data. Mark Testoni is president and CEO of SAP National Security Services. He joined Tom Temin on the Federal Drive with advice on improving the mission as well as the business of national security.

The Pentagon will deal with budget challenges in 2013, but those aren't the only issues DoD planners will face. Rudy deLeon, senior vice president for National Security & International Policy at the Center for American Progress and a former deputy secretary of defense, says the U.S. relationship with China will be a high-profile challenge for the Defense Department in 2013.

The House Armed Services Committee chairman, speaking after a secret briefing from top defense officials on Thursday, said he did not believe the Pentagon was responsible for recent national security leaks.

An inspector general report found the Environmental Protection Agency's national security information infrastructure needed improvement in light of a 2009 executive order. The report called for more comprehensive information security guidelines and better regulation of employees' security clearances.

New security measures, including a new polygraph
question, will help avoid
leaks from intelligence employees, announced
James
Clapper, director of
National Intelligence. Lawyer John Mahoney
analyzes the legal responsibilities between
agencies and federal employees.